Foreign teacher speaking Korean in class

[nzer-in-gyeongnam]

I have a policy set up, with my co-teachers, where, In the classroom I am an English speaker ONLY! I tend to speak to my students while at school in English only, including in the lunch room, when the students (middle school girls) are serving lunch, where I say 'Thank you' to the students, and speak in Korean to the kitchen staff.

I've on odd occasion used Korean in class if I'm making fun of something... for example teaching my middle school girls the other day about sign language, the sign for 'cold'... made a fool of myself and showed them that I do speak Korean by making the sign and saying 'ah chupta! chupta!' The response is then 'wow! teacher you speak Korean?!?!' and that's when my co-teacher jumps in and says 'yes she speaks Korean very well!' and I reply 'Yes, I read, write, and understand Korean, I don't speak often. I speak only English at school, once I'm on the town bus home, and around town, I'm in Korea, so I'll speak Korean, when I'm at school I'm the English teacher, so I speak only English!' Now... what did I just say? And the kids laugh and translate it so that everyone in the class understood.

When I'm at my elementary schools, I try not to speak in Korean at all... unless its to illicit words in English and we've just been learning the Korean and the English for the keywords, OR its to tell my 1st and 2nd graders to sit down and be quiet, or my kindergarteners to sit and listen.

[Dantastical]

Last year I decided I woudl only speak Korean (and even then, as little as possible) in my 1st graders camp, where I have no co-teacher. In the other classes, English only, I mean, that's what the co-teacher is for, right? But then one day a student overheard me talking in Korean to another teacher, and word spread around the school, and now it's a struggle getting the kids to talk to me in English anymore. :-( I think although the short term benefits (class understands better, class management) of using Korean are many, they don't outweigh the long-term disadvantages (having your students always talk to you in Korean).

[christinakim774]

I use a little for my low level classes, otherwise they don't understand anything I'm saying.

For high level classes, if they understand you in English, use English. Why not? There is no misunderstandings in communication. You're using your native language. They get to dialogue more in English and increase their fluency. Everyone wins!

[happydays]

I thinks it really depends on the level of your students.
If kids understand what you are saying, you might not need to speak Korean.
But if there is difficulty in making conversation or understand, Korean needs I think.

[Rww]

I use Korean in my classes to be funny or if I have to explain to a lower level student who doesn't understand English very well. Mostly it's comic relief to a dull class as they are absolutely thrilled to hear me speak in Korean. I massacre their names, but hey love it...

[pluseighty]

My kids have no idea that I can speak and understand Korean perfectly well. I just 'learned' to say Ahn nyeong ha sae yo and my kids get so excited when I say it.

[iibokyongii]

I use Korean with my first and second graders but do not speak any if there is a Korean teacher next to me. It's really hard not to use any Korean when teaching in an Elementary School.

[Mezoti97]

No -- I only use English. I let my co-teachers use Korean and speak to the students in Korean, but I will only speak to the students in English. And if the students say something to me in Korean, I always respond back in English.

[elprofesor]

never speak Korean to your students. otherwise if you speak too well, they will never talk to you in English.  They'll speak to you in Korean.  ;)

[Damien]

I usually try to avoid Korean, but my students' levels are so bad it is hard. At first I completely avoided it and I had some students tell me to learn Korean. Now it is changing and a lot of students either try to understand or have a better attitude. Realistically, 7/30 classes can have class with NO Korean in it.

[jgroh]

I only speak English at the school, but if I'm at the bus stop or on my way there, I'll usually use the following policy. English first, but if they give me the "wtf did he just say" look, then I'll say it in Korean. I figure, I said the said thing in English and then Korean, so they got some English out of it, plus they like me a bit more (maybe).

[zinia07]

never speak Korean to your students. otherwise if you speak too well, they will never talk to you in English.  They'll speak to you in Korean.  ;)

I agree with you. Even though I speak English to my students, some students still speak Korean to me. :(

[Merryone]

personally....I think you all need to relax!

these kids are korean. they think in korean. their primary langauge is korean. they learn in korean. when they are in an english class, the familiar is taken away.

when all the familiar is taken away in my life, I get extreme culture shock. I go into crisis mode. I need true english speakers to make things feel normal again. I want to go get some american culture and take in a movie that is all in english. I want american food!

when I studied German in college, I had to take it and relate to something I knew in order to comprehend it. something i knew was invariably in english. learning is taking different puzzle pieces of information and sticking them together in ways that make sense to the learner. most of my puzzle pieces are in english.

I know very little korean, so its not a huge issue in my classroom, but when I say bali-bali, my kids hop to and do it! with a laugh!

 in my mind,  learning is like algebra. algebra requires numbers and letters. I strugged a lot in alegra because I had a hard time ---mixed (hated) numbers with (loved) letters, but when I got over the fear, I fell in love with the fun of it.

I think its extremely unrealistic to take away korean from a korean and demand 100% english.
just my 2 cents worth.

[milkaru81]

I never speak Korean to my children but I speak Korean to the teachers at my school. However I am having difficulty keeping this a secret from my children as recently they have found out I can speak Korean due to another fellow teacher.  :'(

[Koenji]

I speak Korean to the 6th graders on their last day of elementary school just to surprise them 

[elprofesor]

I never speak Korean to my children but I speak Korean to the teachers at my school. However I am having difficulty keeping this a secret from my children as recently they have found out I can speak Korean due to another fellow teacher.  :'(

that's why you don't speak Korean at all.  otherwise rumors and gossip will lead to everyone finding out.

[KIMMINJI]

Eventhough im an Korean English teacher. am not allowed to speak Korean at school. but sometimes when students have a difficulty in understanding some English words, would be great to speak some Korean to make them understand better. I think.. :)

[maccer]

The whole idea of banning Korean in schools here is severely screwed up. iknow the principle where this comes from is right, ie. the idea of immersion, but if kids are speaking Korean to their Korean teachers then it's very difficult to get into the frame of mind to speak only in English to their Korean teacher. In this way, banning Korean in the classroom at lower levels is a sure way to get the weaker kids to stop contributing at all and thus not improve their speaking skills as much as they could.

[H.W.]

I do my absolute best to avoid using it.Usually I'll leave it to the CT to translate. I will try stick figures, miming, and repetition if there is no CT to help me out. As the last resort I might write the Korean on the board, but I try not to say it out loud.

Outside of class and outside of school, I will say small things in Korean. They know I'm studying it and I only reveal my Korean to kids I already have a good relationship with.

I have multiple reasons for this. One, you lose face when you make a fool of yourself trying to speak a language you can't. Now, I know this is what we're asking them to do, but you must understand we judge our students by western "it's ok" standards and they judge us by Korean "die before suffering embarrassment" standards. It's easy to lose their respect by speaking Korean in the classroom, and you're opening yourself up to ridicule.

Two, if the CT is there and you're speaking Korean, it's like you're rendering them useless. In my school, their primary job when co-teaching is to translate.

Three, students often assume you know more than you do. They will assume you understand them and will begin speaking to you in Korean more often than English.

Your points are totally valid, but on the other hand, I WANT them to know that I understand them a lot of the time, because then they won't try to pull capers on me like they did when I was new and green.  I have found that once the know I understand a bit, they have opened up to me a lot more and seem to trust me a lot more.  This may have to do with getting to know me a little better too, but I think that lowering the language barrier just a little has eased up the pressure on them a little bit.  I know we're not there to make friends with the kids, but I have found that showing them I understand them has brought them closer to me. 

That said, I only really speak Korean when I am a) pressed for time and I don't want to do a whole song and dance explaining a word like "beside" or "school" that they should already know.  or b) REALLY "angry" and showing them I mean business.  Classroom Korean works wonders on these kids and it makes it click that I am not an island unto myself, but part of the teaching staff and 100% in league with the rest of their teachers. Sorry kids, whitey knows Korean, you're effed!   

[Jozigirl]

never speak Korean to your students. otherwise if you speak too well, they will never talk to you in English.  They'll speak to you in Korean.  ;)

It depends on whether or not they think you speak it well though.  My kids know that I speak Korean - they just can't figure out how much I can speak and I have a good poker face.  I understand more than they realize and I use that to my advantage.  Using a bit of Korean in the class can be a good thing in my opinion.